Day 3 & 4: Hawks, an Oasis and Some Good Life Birds

I got busy over the last few weeks and it's a little dated now, but I figured I would go ahead and sum up last month's trip to West Texas.

Brad and I spent our last full day in Big Bend birding Dug Out Wells, Rio Grande Village and Christmas Mountain Oasis.

Dug Out Wells and Rio Grande Village did not disappoint. At Dug Out Wells, we found a Gray Flycatcher hawking insects in the desert and we picked up some good year birds, including Yellow-headed Blackbird.

Rio Grande Village was a hot spot for hawks. I finally added Common Black-Hawk and Zone-tailed Hawk to my life list. Zone-tailed Hawk was a true nemesis bird that I tried to find all last year. Brad spotted my life bird soaring above the horizon near the Rio Grande.

On two previous trips to Big Bend, I never made it to Rio Grande Village to see Common Black-Hawks, which nest in a protected area.

This time I made a point to make the special trip to see the hawks. A pair of hawks were nest building at the time, so it was very easy to find these majestic raptors.

The hawk below is carrying a branch to its nest. I imagine by now the parents are attending to chicks.

Common Black-Hawk

Christmas Mountain Oasis was fantastic. Carolyn-Ohl Johnson greeted us at her bird sanctuary and showed us great hospitality. She even was kind enough to let me borrow her 100-400 L-Series lens to get some closer shots of the birds below.

Green-tailed Towhee

Scaled Quail

Lucifer Hummingbird

The highlight of the evening was watching male and female Elf Owls in action at dusk. The female Elf Owl peeked out of her nest hole several times while waiting for the male.

Elf Owl (Female)

Then, the male Elf Owl showed up. I love the angry look of these miniature owls. It reminds me of the Angry Birds game.

Elf Owl (Male)

Brad and I spent the last part of our trip attempting to find some rare birds - Hermit Warbler and Rufous-capped Warbler, but we dipped (didn't find) on both birds. However, I picked up one last lifer on the Chisos Basin Nature Trail - Hepatic Tanager. At first, I thought it was just a Summer Tanager, a common summer resident. But upon further inspection, Brad pointed out that it was indeed a Hepatic. The two tanagers are superficially similar in appearance, but upon further inspection, you can distinguish the two.

Check out the comparison of the two species below. Can you tell which is Hepatic and which is Summer?

Day 2: The Hike... Choose Your Own Adventure





Colima Warbler is one of the birds I have raved about the most over the last year. This little drab warbler is a novelty because it's only U.S. destination is in the Chisos Mountains where it takes considerable work to find it.

To get to the warblers, you have one of two choices:

Option 1.) Take the easier, but longer hike - a 6-mile, gradual climb up Laguna Meadows.

Or...

Option 2.) Take the tougher, shorter route - a 3-mile steep climb up switchbacks on the Pinnacles trail.

This reminds me of the Choose Your Own Adventure books I read as a kid.

When a park ranger told Brad that several male warblers had been seen about 4 miles on Laguna Meadows, we decided on option 2.

Brad and I got a late start our 12-mile hike, but the fair weather was pleasant and birds were active. We quickly added Scott's Oriole, Black-headed Grosbeak and Western Wood-Pewee to our trip list.

Along the way we ran into some birders who had heard Colimas about a mile or two ahead. Brad and I kept our ears tuned to Colima's trilling song. At first we confused a Spotted Towhee song for the colima, but soon Brad started hearing something different. And soon we knew we had our bird...

I managed a few ID shots, but we had good views of at least 3 Colimas and heard 2 other males.

The surprises didn't end there. While attempting to get a photo of a Colima, we suddenly heard a Mexican Whip-Poor-Will. Both the Colima and Whip-Poor-Will performed their choruses for us at the same time.

As if this wasn't enough, we found another one of my sought after species, Black-chinned Sparrow. Brad first pinpointed one singing in the meadow. The song starts off resembling a bouncing ball and quickly turns into the sounds of a marble dropping on the floor.

Other highlights along the trail were Townsend's Warbler, Hutton's Vireo, Mexican Jays and more.

Brad scoping out the trail



Mexican Jay



Emory Peak - 2nd Highest Peak in Texas





Walking alonside Pine and Madrone Trees, we got great view of Emory Peak, the tallest peak in the Big Bend and second only to Guadalupe Peak for tallest in Texas.

As soon as we got to a ranger cabin, we came across another surprise...

The Black Bear was hungry, but fortunately not for us. It fed on oats and whatever else it could find near the cabin. We heard later that this bear was emaciated or slowly going hungry. I'm not sure if this was accurate, but it sure looked sluggish and hungry.

We completed the hike seeing some amazing birds. I got three lifers along the way and Brad got the Whip-Poor-Will, which he had been wanting to see for some time.

As always, the view of the Window trail is a fitting end to the long hike. Our feet and backs were sore by the end, but the adventure was truly satisfying. While nearing the end of the trail, I took a moment to take in the scenery and thank God for such a beautiful place to enjoy His creation.

The Window

Big Bend: Day 1



Marathon Motel



The morning in Marathon was nice and cool and the desert came to life with the songs of Orchard Orioles and Barn Swallows. In the distance, we could hear Cassin's Sparrows carrying their trilling tunes.

Brad and I spent our first day split between Marathon and Big Bend National Park. After staying at the campground at the Marathon Motel, we headed to Post Park and found some West Texas specialities, including Cassin's Kingbird and Phainopepla.

When we entered the park, a ranger pointed out some Cactus Wrens that were attending to a nest right outside the visitor center.

The cool morning quickly faded into a hot afternoon as we stepped out of the car at Santa Elena Canyon. We hiked the trail, but found few birds.



Santa Elena Canyon

 Then, we visited Cottonwood Campground where we encountered a swirl of bird activity - Ash-throated Flycatcher, Green-tailed Towhees and at least 4 species of sparrow, including a Grasshopper Sparrow, which hopped up on a picnic bench.

And in a large Cottonwood Tree appeared my first lifer - a beautiful Gray Hawk.

Gray Hawk

We spent the rest of the day at Sam Nail Ranch where we found several colorful Varied Buntings calling in the West Texas Brush. This is a bird I've missed in the Big Bend twice, so checking it off on my life list was a huge plus. I didn't get very many good photos on the first day, but when we visited Christmas Mountain Oasis the next day, I got the shot I really wanted.

Varied Bunting

Big Bend: A Bittersweet Story of Beauty and Survival

The severe drought in West Texas has left its mark on the landscape and has impacted bird life and nature all together in Big Bend country. Springs have dried up and wildfires have destroyed forests. Even the hardiest pine trees are dying in the Chisos Basin.

But one thing in Big Bend is for sure: Life goes on...

This weekend I was inspired by the persistant spirit of people and nature in the Trans-Pecos region. On our 12-mile hike through the Chisos Mountains, Brad and I were pleased to find a diversity of birds and wildlife despite the drought. I visited a bird sanctuary where Carolyn Ohl-Johnson spends countless hours hauling water from Alpine to her remote property in the Chihuahan desert to keep her Christmas Mountain Oasis alive.

During our visit, more than a hundred firefighters were battling a wildfire near the Davis Mountains Resort. The blaze continues to threaten life and property. My thoughts and prayers go out to the volunteers and residents caught in this real life struggle to survive. In the coming days, I'll unpack my experiences and share about all the great birds I saw and some of the people I met along the way.

Heading Out West

This year I'm breaking with tradition and going to Big Bend instead of High Island for a long weekend of birding. Me and my friend, Brad, are leaving after work to the Trans- Pecos region with lots of target birds on the itinerary.

First stop is Uvalde for a Rufous-capped Warbler at Chalk Bluff Park. The rare bird has been seen over the last few days singing near a boat ramp in tall brush. We'll try to catch a glimpse of this attractive yellow/red passerine this evening. If we don't get him today, we'll try again on our way back on Monday.

Next, we'll do some birding in Marathon and head to the Chisos Mountains in Big Bend National Park. We plan to camp out in the mountains in Boot Springs, the prestigious location for the Colima Warbler, a warbler that only make its way into the U.S. via the high elevations of the Chisos Mountains. While we're up there at night we will listen for nocturnal birds such as Flammulated Owl and Mexican Whip-Poor-Will.

We also plan to visit Christmas Mountain Oasis for some special birds that I haven't picked up on my life list, yet - Varied Bunting and Elf Owl. Fortunately, Carolyn Ohl who keeps this amazing place alive in the desert, just located an owl nest yesterday, so there's a good chance for some good looks at one of the smallest owls in the world.

Hoo... you lookin' at?

Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl

Last Saturday I found this little fella at the San Miguelito Ranch near Raymondville, TX. Ferruginous Pygmy-Owls have been very scarce in South Texas and are now only found reliably in a handful of birding hotspots on the coastal plains.

Grana and I each paid $30 to take a tour of the ranch with some visitors from Massachusetts to get this rare owl. Our tour guide, Carson, picked us up at the gate and took us to the ranch house where he said at least a pair of owls were nesting.

We had a hard time finding the owl at first. Carson thought it would be easy to find, but we ended up searching the back yard for a good 30 minutes before Carson spotted the tiny owl. If it wasn't for Carson, we probably would have missed the owl.

Our guide looking up at the owl.

We got good looks at the owl, but Carson said that the other owl that was missing usually allow approach within 5 yards! Wow, guess I'll have to come back to see that sometime. This special owl can also be found in Arizona, but aside from that it's typically only found in South Texas. How amazing it must be to own a ranch where this unique species nests.

The owl can also be found on the King Ranch nature tours, but I'm not sure if you'd be able to get as close as we did.

Other than the owl, we saw several Hooded Orioles.

And we made a run down to Estero Llano Grande State Park for another nocturnal bird - Common Pauraque. It was a little difficult to find, but last year I found a pair by Alligator Lake, so I knew where to look. I found this one in virtually the same spot.

Common Pauraque

The Tale of the Yellow Rail

Seeing a Yellow Rail up close and personal is a dream for a lot of birders. Just getting a quick look flying over marshy grassland is nearly impossible. That's why birders from around the country come to Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge just to catch a glimpse of the elusive rail during the annual Yellow Rail Walks. I was more than fortunate to get about a 5 minute-look at one of the most secretive birds in North America.

Yellow Rail at Anahuac NWR - Samuel Taylor©

It all started bright an early on Sunday morning after a late night drive from Corpus Christi to Beaumont. We were going on about 4 hours of sleep and a cup of coffee when we strapped on our rain boots, doused ourselves in mosquito repellent and joined more than a dozen birders to tromp through mud and sharp marsh grass to look for the prized bird.

Our leader David Sarkozi has been doing these walks for more than 20 years. He gave a short orientation and explained just exactly what we were getting ourselves into. He pulled out a long rope with milk jugs filled with some material that made them rattle and explained that we needed to march through the grass in a tight formation behind the line. The idea was to flush the rails, which would usually be content waiting out the oncoming traffic or just walking right by Rail Walkers in the knee-high grass.

 The morning was unsuccessful for Yellow Rail, but we did get a few Soras.

Sora after being flushed.

It wasn't until the afternoon when we tried again that we got exactly what we wanted. After about 20 minutes of fruitless walking, Arman caught a glimpse of something flying into the grass behind me. We turned our attention to the area and dragged the line across the grass. Nothing... So we tried one more time and out popped a Yellow Rail.

David instructed us to quickly form a circle around the area where it had dropped down. We thought the rail would come up out of the grass but instead it walked right by one of the other birders and out of the circle.

Amazingly, we got another chance and flushed the rail once more. This time we formed a tighter circle and didn't leave much room for him to walk out. Instead, he allowed us to get some good footage of his yellow-gold plummage.

Thanks to David Sarkozi for the lifetime experience at Anahuac. We had a blast and got to see something that most birders only hope to see. The rare sighting was well worth tromping through the mud, muck and mosquitos.

Left to Right: Daria and Marcin Kotjka; Arman Moreno; Me